A Welcome Change
by OnlyTheInevitable
Summary: Jean wants to move on from Remi after the separation. Why not start with her hair?


**2017**

She kissed Remi.

Again.

There were no feeling of reconciliation. There was nothing comforting about being in his arms. The only feelings she ever got out of their reunions were guilt and shame.

She and Otis had both fallen into a self-destructive pattern of seeing him come back in town and hoping that they could have a slice of normalcy, as if they could just relive the past for a moment before it was inevitably shattered again. Unlike Remi, she _liked_ being married. She'd always felt like they had been partners in crime. Two people with a shared passion feeding off of the other's excitement and creating groundbreaking work together. And unlike Remi, Otis liked being near his family.

It was only after he left that she realized all their projects stemmed from her ideas. That her passion lies in the work of bettering people, his passion was only in the gritty subject matter.

Sex Addict.

Other children.

Who knows how many other women.

They wrote an entire chapter on the psychological impact infidelity had on the other partner. She thinks that's what hurts the most. The fact he had to have known exactly what he was doing to his family, to her, everytime he stuck his cock in every woman that looked his way.

"_I'd get tested. Just to be safe."_

"_Can you set up a Skype account for Otis? It'll be like I'm still in England."_

Otis cried for weeks after he left. Yet every time he came back, he seemed to forget that. He always greeted Remi with open arms and a loving heart, only to come back home from their time together with broken spirits and a made up tale of the splendid things they did together. It always amazed her how imaginative Otis could be when was trying to make his dad seem decent.

She couldn't blame him. Every time Remi was in town and came up to her office with his confidence and swagger, she put on her rose-colored glasses and saw the man she wanted to see. The man who could make her laugh. The man who gave her Otis. It never helped that he would bring a bottle of wine to loosen her up.

She's either kissed him or fucked him every time he's come to see Otis. Sometimes both. She's always been able to tell herself that it's her, not him. He might be trying to be seductive and charming, but it's not working. She's just too good at making him temporarily seem better than he is. She wants to relive the time in her life when she felt happy, loved, and secure. But without fail, she recognizes it's Remi's arms she's in and she's reminded that she was never really happy, loved, or secure. She was tricked.

This time was no different. His lips pressed against hers with a familiarity that no longer felt comforting and she took a step back, giving him a small smile that signalled that was all he was getting this time.

"You know what, Jean?" he boasted.

"Hmm?"

"It's always comforting coming back here and seeing you. You're my constant." As he said this, he stroked her cheek and grabbed a strand of long brown hair, twirling it in his fingers.

She said nothing, and in classic Remi fashion, he continued as if she had. "You look just like you did on the cover of _Pillow Talk._ Sometimes I see a brunette in a grocery store and I swear it's you."

She felt her stomach knot at his words, imagining him going up to said brunettes and giving them some cheesy pick up line. _Did he imagine they were her?_

_No._ What a ridiculous thought.

He left after a while, but his words lingered. She didn't want to comfort him.

"Stupid. Fucking. Bullocks. Sucking. Idiot. Man-child," she grumbled, swiping up a pair of scissors before slamming the bathroom door.

She didn't even have a second thought.

_You're_

**Snip. **

_My._

**Snip.**

_Constant._

**Snip.**

It didn't go as well as she'd hoped, but it felt damn good. The hair stylist fixed it up for her the next day, and she was thrilled when Jean told her to do "Anything. But make sure it's different."

When the stylist was done and pivoted her chair around to the mirror, she couldn't keep the smile off her face. She was one step towards changing for the better. Finally.


End file.
